Description The United States will conduct military exercises in the Persian Gulf area next month featuring a landing on the coasts of Oman and Somalia by up to 1,000 Marines, Pentagon officials said Friday.
The maneuvers, to begin at the end of this month and to run 10 days, will be the first in the region since the massive 'Bright Star '82' exercise involving about 5,000 U.S. troops a year ago in Egypt, Oman, Sudan and Somalia.
Advertisement
The exercises are designed to test the ability of the Rapid Deployment Force to project its power into the Persian Gulf, a vital oil region the United States has committed itself to defend against any threatened Soviet penetration.
Egypt will not be participating in the current exercise, code-named 'Jade Tiger.'
The commander of the RDF, Gen. Robert Kingston, said following the 'Bright Star' maneuvers last November that he would prefer to return to Egypt in deep summer to test U.S. forces in a desert environment at its worst.
Pentagon officials, who declined to be identified, said up to 1,000 Marines will hit the beaches at Oman in exercises involving Air Force F-16 fighters and Airborne Warning and Control System Aircraft now based in Saudi Arabia. Oman is on the eastern elbow of the Arabian Peninsula and part of its coastline on the Gulf of Oman is opposite Iran.
